Island



June 3 1924.

H. w. RICE BELT BUCKLE Filed July 5, 1920 nventor a 2% .M %1//m( Patented June 3, 1924.

HENRY "W. RICE, OF PAWTUCKET, .RHODE ISLAND. I

BELT B'Uc iLn.

Application filed July 3,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HENRY IV. RICE, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Pawtucket, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Belt Buckles, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to buckles particularly that type of buckles commonly used for belts for personal .wear in which the socalled fixed end of the belt is anchored to a bail which is made vin lever form to provide means for adjustably holding the free end of the belt in any desired position of adjustment.

'The common style of lever-bail buckle is, however, open to the objection that unless the thickness of the belt exactly matches the dimensions of the buckle the device'is not satisfactory for use. A slightly thinner belt permits the belt to slip between the lever and the body member, while a belt slightlythicker than the appropriate thicls ness for the buckle prevents the lever from assuming its proper normal position in line with the body of thebucklc. 7

It is the object of the present invention to overcome these difiiculties by providing a construction which permits the use of belts of difierent thickness Within reasonable limits without incurring the objections mentioned. To this end the invention generally speaking, comprises a buckle whose body member is provided with opposite side flanges in which is mounted a pivotal leverbail provided with means affording anchor age for the fixed end of the belt and comprising two members, a fulcral member and a belt gripping member whose adjacent edges extend across substantially the interior width of the buckle and are offset one above the other so as to produce a strong but yielding spring engagement with the free end of the belt whereby the lever-bail accommodates itself to different thicknesses of belt so as to hold them securely in the desided position of adjustment.

These and other features of the invention will be described in this specification and will be defined in the claim hereto annexed.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated two different embodiments of the 19 20. fierial No. 393,784.

principle characterizing this invention in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating the position of parts when the buckle is in use,the front plate of the body member being shown in longitudinal section.

igure 2is abottom plan View of the form of buckle shown in Figure 1. i

Figure 3 is a transverse section on the plane indicated by dotted lines on Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows aslightly modified form of construction.

In the practice of this invention according to the form illustrated in the drawings, the body member of the buckle comprises a front plate 1 having flanges 2 extending along each side of the front plate substantially parallel to each other at approxi niately' right angles to the front plate. The flanges are nade comparatively narrow as shown in the draw i ngs,then at some part of their lengtlrwhere thebail is to be attached the flanges 2 are formed with projecting ears or extensions 3-whicl1 are provided with recesses fl to form bearings to receive the pivotal journals ofthe lever-bail. N8ft1' the end of the buckle oppositeito the bail I preferably provide inturned lugs 5 which project from the lower edges of the longitudinal flanges 2 so as to form guides for introducing the free'end of thestrap andals o to prevent the body member of the buckle from swinging away from the line of the belt.

The lever-bail may be made inwarious forms. In Figure 1 I have shown the leverbail formed of a single piece of sheet or spring metal doubled back upon itself to form a lower or fulcral member 6 and an upper or belt gripping or pinching member 7. For the purpose of providing means for retaining the fixed or anchored end of the belt I provide a transverse slot 8 extending nearly the whole width of the plate so as to permit the end of the belt to be looped through this space for fastening purposes.

The lower or fulcral member 6 of the lever-bail is provided at its inner end with projecting journals 9 which may be integral with the plate itself and which are sprung into the recesses formed in the opposlte side flanges. These recesses as shown are preferably countersunk rather than perforated so as to cover the end of the journals. Any appropriate way of pivoting this lever may be adopted.

The upper or spring member which engages and grips the belt against the under face of the front portion of the buckle body while united to the fulcral plate or member 6 at its outer portion is offset vertically, that is, toward the front plate of the buckle opposite or above the pivotal axis of the bail so as to allow the inner end of the belt pinching member to yield under strong pressure to accommodate belts of varying thickness.

In Figure 1 there is shown in dotted lines the overlapping ends of the belt the anchored end being looped through the free or outer end of the bail while the free or tongue end of the belt is introduced between the lever-bail and the front member by swinging the bail downward into the position indicated in dotted lines to allow the easy passage of the free end of the belt. When the bail is swung to the position approximately in alignment with the buckle body the free or inner end of the belt pinching member swings around into pinching engagement with the belt, and when introduced between the pivotal axis and the front member of the buckle it will exert a strong but wielding grip by which the free end of the belt is retained in place.

In Figure 4 I have shown a slightly modilied form of construction in which the fulcral member 10 and the belt pinching member 11 is formed of two separate plates riveted or soldered together and in this case the lower of fulcral plate has its inner end offset from the remainder of the plate while the superimposed gripping plate 11 is made fiat with a very short projecting lip 12 at its inner end adjacent to the pivotal axis but suificiently separated therefrom to' allow the yielding action previously described.

It will be noticed that this principle of construction allows the gripping portion of the lever-bail to yield but at the same time both the fulcral edges and the gripping edges are continuous clear across the inside of the buckle thus affording the needed strength and durability to give a strong gripping action while allowing the suflicient yielding to accommodate varying thickness of belt without sacrificing the strength of the bail.

\Vhat I claim is:

A belt buckle embracing in its construction, a front plate whose side portions are inturned to form substantially parallel side flanges, each of said flanges being provided near one end with a backwardly projecting ear formed with an outwardly projecting hollow boss forming bearing seats for a lever, said flanges being provided at their opposite ends with inwardly turned separated guide lips, and a lever comprising a fulcral member having at its opposite side fulcral pintles adapted to be seated in the hollow bosses, and a belt-gripping member secured against the front face of the fulcral lever and having at its inner end a belt-engaging lip portion spaced some distance forwardly of the fulcral, axis. said lever being formed. with a transverse slot to permit the looping through it of the anchored end of the belt, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

HENRY w. RICE. 

